Eric Desjardins | Defenseman

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Eric Desjardins will be honored by the Philadelphia Flyers tonight, before they take on Montreal.

The two teams are the only ones Desjardins played for in his career. The defenseman played 18 seasons in the NHL and amassed 136 goals and 439 assists for 575 points in 1,143 games. It will be a fun and emotional night in Philadelphia. Thu, Jan 11, 2007 08:47:00 AM

Desjardins played 18 seasons in the NHL and amassed 136 goals and 439 assists for 575 points in 1,143 games. The classy defenseman won the Stanley Cup with Montreal in 1993. We wish the former Flyer captain well in his retirement. Wed, Aug 9, 2006 10:31:00 AM

GM Bob Clarke acknowledged that signing a defender or two was a top priority due to Desjardins pending retirement. He has been troubled by injuries in the past few seasons, and had hip surgery in early May, which likely makes the decision easier for him. Mon, Jun 26, 2006 11:09:00 AM

Desjardins is expected to be fully healed by training camp next September. The veteran defenseman has struggled in his older age, and it appears that his hip has been bothering him for a while. If he is able to come back to full strength, he could surprise a few people next season. Although that remains a very big "if". Tue, May 9, 2006 08:27:00 AM

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Desjardins played 18 seasons in the NHL and amassed 136 goals and 439 assists for 575 points in 1,143 games. The classy defenseman won the Stanley Cup with Montreal in 1993. We wish the former Flyer captain well in his retirement.

GM Bob Clarke acknowledged that signing a defender or two was a top priority due to Desjardins pending retirement. He has been troubled by injuries in the past few seasons, and had hip surgery in early May, which likely makes the decision easier for him.

Desjardins is expected to be fully healed by training camp next September. The veteran defenseman has struggled in his older age, and it appears that his hip has been bothering him for a while. If he is able to come back to full strength, he could surprise a few people next season. Although that remains a very big "if".

Eric Desjardins will undergo testing to determine whether he needs surgery to correct a problem he is having with his right hip.

The veteran rearguard, who looked slow against the Sabres in the opening round of the playoffs, could have a torn labrum or he could be bothered by bone fragments in the hip area. The hip troubled Desjardins throughout the second half of the season, according to club sources, but he refused to divulge it to anyone other than the team's medical staff. Desjardins, an unrestricted free agent as of July 1st, will likely have to take a pay cut from the $2.28 million he earned this past season if he is to re-sign in Philly for 2006-07. The condition of his hip may be a factor in contract negotiations.

Desjardins has missed the last 29 games with a posterior subluxation to his right shoulder, an injury he suffered on December 6. The 36-year-old underwent surgery a week later. He was off to a strong start before his injury, so feel free to activate him if you need him on your fantasy blueline.

He has been out of action since December 6th following right shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum. "We're at the point where we've just got to get it stronger," said the veteran defenseman. "Take it a week at a time. [Tuesday] was the 7-week mark and next Tuesday is 8. [Doctors originally] said 8 to 10 weeks, so we'll look at it again and see where it is. It's nothing like a game, but it's as close as you can get." Desjardins is hoping to return to acton after the Olympic break.

He has been rehabbing for 6 weeks, and the minimum time is usually 8 weeks. The Flyers' medical staff is taking a cautious approach and will hold Desjardins out of the lineup until after the Olympic break.

Eric Desjardins' shoulder injury is actually a torn right labrum that will require surgery.

The procedure is scheduled for this coming Tuesday. Desjardins will be out of action until at least the Olympic break. Dennis Seidenberg (broken right wrist) was cleared to play yesterday and will take Desjardins' place tonight against the Oilers.

Eric Desjardins is expected to miss 8 to 10 weeks due to a dislocated right shoulder.

He will be operated on next Tuesday by team orthopedist Peter DeLuca. Desjardins had surgery on the same shoulder four years ago and is not expected back until after the Olympic Break. Reserve him as quick as you can and look elsewhere for help on your fantasy blueline.

Depth Charts

Claude Giroux scored twice for the Flyers, who came up short in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Oilers on Saturday night.

The Flyers captain has goals in back-to-back games and points in three games in a row. His 21 goals seem low, mostly due to the fact he has a 8.2 percent shooting percentage. Michael Raffl and Ryan White notched the other goals. Jakub Voracek tallied three helpers.

Philadelphia center Ryan White had a goal and assisted on another in the Flyers' 5-2 loss to the Devils in New Jersey Sunday.

In 19 games this season, White has three goals and five assists. Michael Raffl also scored for the Flyers, who never led this game. Raffl's goal came while the Flyers were shorthanded at 11:44 of the third period. It was his 16th goal of the season.

VandeVelde scored only once last season in 46 games so his nine goals in 56 games this season is a vast improvement. He has 15 points this season so unless you are in a very, very, very deep league, he should not be on your team.

Cousins was credited with a shot on goal and a hit. "Fast game out there tonight and he looked like he had the pace for it," Flyers coach Craig Berube said of Cousins. "Competitive guy. Strong on the puck. He played a real solid game." Cousins has 21 goals and 55 points in 60 AHL games this season.

Flyers coach Craig Berube has a simple reason for why he hasn't given Vincent Lecavalier a lot of playing time this season.

"He just hasn't produced and he gets power-play time, too," Berube said. "He hasn't produced." Lecavalier has just seven goals and 18 points in 51 contests this season. At the same time he's been limited to 12:47 minutes per contest, so the fact that his production is down isn't surprising. At any rate, Lecavalier needs a change of scenery, but we doubt he'll get one given his cap hit and the fact that he won't be an unrestricted free agent until 2018.

Matt Read recorded two assists in a 4-1 win against Chicago on Wednesday.

Read has seven goals and 29 points in 73 contests in 2014-15. His best season offensively remains his 2011-2012 rookie campaign (47 points). He'll turn 29 in June and we don't expect him to be worth drafting in standard fantasy leagues for the 2015-16 campaign.

Zac Rinaldo will be scratched against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night.

Due to both a suspension and multiple scratches Rinaldo has seen just nine games in 2015, but has been an effective fantasy goon in that time with 55 PIMs and 40 hits. For the season, he has 92 PIMs and 140 hits in just 40 games.

R.J. Umberger will undergo surgery on his hip and abdominal muscles and miss the rest of the season.

Well, at least we now know why Umberger was laboring and had not scored in his last 18 games. He had nine goals this season with six assists. "I think the biggest thing that’s bothered me is just that I feel like I’ve let Ron Hextall down," Umberger said on Tuesday. "He believed in me, bringing me here, and I feel I haven’t been the player he needs." He will get a chance to redeem himself next season.

Jakub Voracek might become the first Philadelphia Flyers player to win the Art Ross Trophy.

Eric Lindros came the closest with 70 points in 1995. That was enough to tie Jaromir Jagr at the top of the scoring race, but Lindros loss the Art Ross Trophy because he had fewer goals. This time around Voracek is three points behind Sidney Crosby in the scoring race. Voracek has 21 goals and 76 points in 76 games.

Wayne Simmonds fractured his left leg in the Flyers 4-1 win over Chicago on Wednesday and will be out for the rest of the season.

The Flyers official website broke the news that he and Andrew MacDonald were going to be out for the remainder of the season. Comcast Sportsnet Philadelphia later reported that Simmonds fractured his left leg while McDonald has a fractured right hand. Simmonds' 28 goals leads the Flyers as does his 14 power-play goals, which also ranks third overall in the NHL. He also has 22 assists for a total of 50 points, having appeared in all 75 games for the Flyers this season.

Raffl tipped in a nice slap pass from Claude Giroux for the Flyers' only score on the evening. With 17 goals in his second year in the NHL, Raffl is an interesting dynasty prospect to look at. He was playing with Wayne Simmonds and Claude Giroux tonight which makes him relevant in the fantasy world right now. His 17 goals in 57 games is a very nice jump from nine in 68 games in his rookie season last year.

Andrew MacDonald is out for the rest of the season after fracturing his right hand in 4-1 win over Chicago on Wednesday.

It was first reported as a upper-body injury but Comcast Sportsnet Philadelphia reported that it was a fractured right hand. MacDonald has appeared in 58 of 75 games for the Flyers, recording two goals and 10 assists for 12 points while averaging exactly 20 minutes of ice-time per-game.

Michael Del Zotto played 30:18 in Saturday's 3-2 shootout loss to San Jose.

The Flyers were in big trouble as Mark Streit and Carlo Colaiacovo were out with the flu and Luke Schenn and Andrew MacDonald were out with injuries so Del Zotto picked up a lot of the slack. Rookie Brandon Manning played 25:07 while the Flyers called up a couple of rookies in Mark Alt and Oliver Lauridsen to fill out the blueline.

Radko Gudas (knee) isn't expected to return before the end of the 2014-15 campaign.

Gudas was acquired by the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday as part of the Braydon Coburn trade. He's a physical, defensive defenseman that's also capable of chipping in offensively and should be a significant part of Philadelphia's blueline next season.

Manning will help fill the void left by Andrew MacDonald, who will miss the rest of the season with a hand injury. Manning has 43 points and 150 penalty minutes in 58 AHL contests in 2014-15. The 24-year-old defenseman is worth keeping an eye on as he might have some fantasy value for what little is left of the season.

Chris Pronger has officially joined the NHL's department of player safety.

We've long since known that Pronger's players days are unfortunately over. He will continue to get paid by the Flyers, as per his contract, despite the fact that he will also be working for the league.

Ray Emery yielded five goals on 34 shots in the Flyers’ 5-4 overtime loss to the Oilers on Saturday night.

Called upon at the last minute with Steve Mason ill at the start, Emery allowed a goal 51 seconds into the game, and three in the first period. He offers very little upside, even considering his role as a backup. Emery has a 3.08 goals-against average and .894 save percentage.